Many high school students feel extreme pressure to meet their parents’ high expectations. While I understand it is difficult to live up to them, I don’t resent the precedent my parents set for me. Rather, it only inspired me to challenge myself even further.
Like many, I was unable to understand why my parents expected so many things from me when I was younger. Growing up, I recall hating my mother for demanding I do two things: doing my homework and eating my vegetables. However, I realized that if I wanted to be healthy and be prepared for the future, I needed to do well in school and eat my broccoli.
When I hear about how people have developed immense hatred towards their parents for setting high standards, the first feeling that comes to my mind isn’t sympathy for the child, but rather I feel that these kids are not giving their parents the appreciation they deserve. While my experiences cannot speak for everyone, I am extremely thankful for the sacrifices my parents have made for me and that they want me to be the best that I can be.
Both of my parents gave up everything they had to come to the United States in search of a better future. My dad got on a plane in China and landed at LAX with $17 in his pocket and my mother was born in war-torn Vietnam and traveled alone in the bottom of a fishing boat across various countries in Southeast Asia before coming to the United States.
Looking at what my parents have been able to accomplish made me see why they set high expectations for me. Both had no entitlements and came from virtually nothing. Neither of them complained and through their hard work, can comfortably provide the best environment and opportunities today for my sister and me to achieve success. There is no excuse for me to not achieve more with the many resources I have.
My parent’s ultimate goal is to see me succeed, and that is something that I should be thankful for. They sacrificed so much to provide me with all that I have today, and I owe my parents a return on the investment they made for me. Whether or not I get accepted into a prestigious university or make six figures in the future will not affect the accomplishments that my parents have already achieved.